In the German federal government, there is, according to Berlin’s “Tagesspiegel,” no unified line on hoisting the rainbow flag for Christopher Street Day (CSD). As the newspaper reported in its Wednesday edition, nine federal ministries plan to raise the flag on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOT). These are the ministries for the Environment, Interior, Research, Health, Social Affairs, Justice, Construction, Development, and Finance.
None of the three coalition-led ministries plan to raise the flag—the Chancellor’s Office, the Foreign Office, and the Federal Ministry of Transport. The Family Ministry and the Defense Ministry would raise the flag on the Berlin CSD on July 25, as would the Bundesrat. The Economy Ministry has scheduled May 19 for this, the paper reported. No plans have been disclosed yet from the Digital Ministry and from the Agriculture Ministry.
Some ministries left open, according to the report, whether they will follow the Interior Ministry’s guidelines to raise the rainbow flag only for one day. This concerns the Social Ministry. The Defense Ministry intends to display the flag on CSD day inside its own building and, in addition, on July 3 for a defense-specific remembrance day.
“Not only mortifying, but dangerously incendiary”
The Greens criticized the restraint by some ministries. “This dithering and this lack of backbone are not only mortifying, but dangerously incendiary,” Nyke Slawik, the Greens’ queer-policy spokesperson, told the “Tagesspiegel.” The federal government “is pouring oil on the fire through hesitation and hedging.” At the same time, crime statistics show that attacks on queer people have risen almost tenfold in recent years.
Last year, the affair around Parliament President Julia Klöckner’s stance against the rainbow flag for the Berlin CSD drew significant attention. The CDU politician prohibited hoisting the flag at the Berlin CSD — something that had not been an issue in the previous administration. She also barred the Bundestag administration from officially participating in the CSD as in prior years (TheColu.mn reported). (AFP)
